Nila Madhab’s Oriya film “Kalira Atita” selected in the prestigious Panorama section

New Delhi (Kalinga Voice): Information and broadcasting minister shri Prakash Javadekar, announced IFFI 2020, today for the film nominations of  its 51st film festival in Goa which was postponed due to Covid 19 and Nila Madhab Panda’s Odiya film “Kalira Atita” (Yesterday’s Past ) has been selected in its prestigious Panorama section. 

Speaking on the selection Nila Madhab Panda says, “Kalira Atita is my first Odiya film and I am really happy that it will start its journey with the prestigious IFFI. This is definitely one good news this year and I hope the year ahead will bring more cheer.”

If prophecies are to be believed, the global warming and subsequent rise in the water level in the Bay of Bengal will result in Puri being submerged in the sea.  Achyutananda Das, a 16th century saint from Odisha, had written about doomsday in his famous book titled Achutananda Malika. National Award-winning director Nila Madhab Panda’s first Oriya film, Kalira Atita (Yesterday’s Past), is inspired by the prophesies of Achyutnanda. It revolves around a man from the Satavaya village in east coast of Odisha which has been swallowed by the sea, a phenomenon common on our east coast. 

Panda who has been shooting since 2005, says the reason he wanted to make it is because for many climate change is still a future shock and so leave them untouched. “This film emphasizes that it is a harsh reality and that people are losing their lives and livelihood because of it,” the director asserts.

 Synopsis of the “Kalira atita” speaks the story of Gunu, a disillusioned young man from Satavaya village, travels restlessly towards death, memories of a past cyclone propelling him into the eye of one that is coming.  Hoping to reunite with his lost family, he returns to his village, five days before the cyclone, to find that it is now under water. Gunu’s struggle to survive the fury of nature is a portrayal of emotional trauma and human triumph.

 Nila Madhab Panda as a filmmaker has created a new narrative with his insights into contemporary India and the psyche of its people. Born in Dasharajpur, a small, inaccessible village in Odisha, located on the banks of the river Mahanadi, he carries with him the nostalgia of rural life, a world he calls “little India”. He brings his personal experiences to bear on his explorations, giving us visual poetry, which is at once charming and thought-provoking. 

A Padma Shri awardee in 2016, he was conferred with D.Litt. Honoris Causa by the Utkal Culture University, Odisha two years later. His maiden feature film, I am Kalam, in 2010, won 34 international awards, along with a National Award. 

His second feature film, Jalpari (Desert Mermaid), received the MIP Junior Award at Cannes. Another feature-length documentary, God’s Own People (2016), narrated by Amitabh Bachchan, is about the reincarnation of Lord Jagannath. He has also directed Babloo Happy Hai (Babloo is Happy), Kaun Kitney Paani Mein (In Troubled Water) and several other films, documentaries, and TV series. Among them, Kadvi Hawa (Dark Wind), bagged another National Award and international acclaim. His recent film for children, Halkaa (Relief), inspired by the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign, has travelled to 32 international film festivals and won two Grand Prix awards.

His recent short film is a part of an anthology by 11 directors from 11 countries, produced by ART for the World in association with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI). It premiered at the Rome International Film Festival in 2019.